CRAWFORDSVILLE, Indiana --The Wabash College defense accounted for six sacks, generated three turnovers, and held Ohio Wesleyan to 13 points in six trips to the red zone in a 30-13 victory in its annual Homecoming contest.

The Little Giants improved to 2-0 on the year and 1-0 in North Coast Athletic Conference play, while the Battling Bishops fell to 1-1 and 0-1.

Gavin Ruppert paced Wabash's defense by matching his career-best mark for tackles with 18, equaling his 18-tackle effort against Denison in 2022. Ruppert finished the day with two sacks for 27 yards lost, five total tackles for losses totaling 29 yards, and one interception that led to the Little Giants' second touchdown of the game for the eventual game-winning score.

"This game was exactly what we thought it would be – just a nasty slug fest," Wabash head coach Don Morel said. "The Wabash-OWU game is like this every year. The coaches know each other so well that these games tend to be hard-fought, and this one really was – right until the end.

"Our defense – when they need to bull their necks, they do. We gave up some yards today, no doubt about it. Both defenses were exceptional in the red zone. It's hard – you do not want to be first-and-goal at the nine-yard-line. Ruppert was excellent, and it was great to have Jake Pasch back."

Ohio Wesleyan out gained the Little Giants 425 yards to 285. Wabash's defense was tough against the run, limiting Ohio Wesleyan to only 82 yards on the ground. Wabash out-rushed Ohio Wesleyan by 73 yards. The Little Giants pestered the Ohio Wesleyan passing attack all game, racking up six sacks and grabbing two interceptions.

Xavier Tyler paced the Little Giants' rushing attack by accumulating 79 yards and one touchdown over the course of the game, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Brand Campbell also added 55 yards on the ground, averaging 9.2 yards per carry. He entered the game for starter Blake White, who completed 10-of-17 passes for 78 yards and one score before leaving the game with an injury.

Campbell hit Kannon Chase on a 23-yard touchdown pass in the sophomore quarterback's first throw of his collegiate career to put Wabash up 20-6.

"I was very happy for Brand Campbell, who threw a touchdown on his first play after coming in for an injured Blake White," Morel said. "I've always had a theory about a backup quarterback going into a game: you should always throw the streak. It's very close between Brand and Tony (Antonio Hernandez). It was a painful decision and one I'd hoped I would never have to make. I told Antonio that I went with my gut, and it was Brand."

TJ Alexander reeled in four catches for 39 yards and one score. Tyler caught four passes for 22 yards. Chase added two receptions for 27 yards and one TD.

Brody Frey added three tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, and one recovered fumble. Avery Epstein had seven tackles and one interception in the win.

The Little Giants won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing three turnovers while giving the ball up two times. Wabash turned those takeaways into 17 points.

How It Happened

Wabash scored first and opened a 7-0 lead with 6:26 left in the first quarter on a White-to-Alexander six-yard pass. A 39-yard field goal from Brody Rucker increased the lead to 10-0.

A score from Ohio Wesleyan on a nine-yard touchdown pass cut the lead to 10-6 before Wabash scored again with 1:10 remaining in the second quarter. Rucker connected on a 20-yard field goal to extend the Little Giants' lead to 13-6 heading into halftime.

Wabash continued to build its lead after Ohio Wesleyan made it a 20-13 game. The Little Giants found the end zone on a Tyler five-yard scoring run with 4:54 remaining in the game. The final touchdown came one play after an interception and 51-yard return by Epstein to make the score 30-13.

Game Notes

» Ohio Wesleyan out gained Wabash 425-285 in the contest.

» Wabash won the turnover battle 3-2 after intercepting two passes and recovering one fumble.

» The Little Giants scored first with 6:26 left in the first quarter and never trailed the rest of the game on their way to victory.

» Wabash had its highest scoring quarter in the fourth period when they put up ten points.

» Wabash converted no third downs while Ohio Wesleyan was successful on 3 of 14 third-down attempts. Wabash went 2-for-2 on fourth down, converting on 100 percent of attempts. The Battling Bishops finished 1-of-6 on fourth downs.

» Ruppert led the Little Giants with 18 tackles.

» Brody Rucker knocked through three field goals for the Little Giants with a long of 39 yards.

» Wabash allowed just 13 points in six Ohio Wesleyan trips to the red zone.

» Wabash forced one red zone turnover in the contest.

» The Little Giants totaled 12 tackles for losses of 54 yards and added six sacks for 42 yards.

» Kaden Buza led the Battling Bishops passing attack, completing 28 of his 48 attempts for 343 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.

» Josh Hurst was Ohio Wesleyan's leading receiver with 90 yards. JT James and Braden Fitchko each caught touchdown passes for the Battling Bishops. Freshman running back Nathan Severs ran for 44 yards on 15 carries.  

Parts of this story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.